I have successfully grown plants. Yes, plural! I’m not going to publicly call it a garden quite yet, but in my mind it is. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to grow edible plants. Ok, I’ll tell you. Pretty much every year, I’ve tried – and failed – to grow vegetables, herbs, and really anything.

But that all changed. And this year, I have jalapenos, flowers, succulents, a money tree, cactus and a big OL’ pot of basil. The basil just started multiplying. And then I started to panic…how do I use it fast enough? What can I do besides make pesto (which is a whole conversation in itself)?

So I took the best produce of summer and combined it all together in one, tasty salad.

Can we talk about summer for a minute though? We have done NOTHING. We haven’t gone to the beach, we haven’t been to Malibu, we haven’t even been to the Hollywood Bowl and we haven’t gone to one outdoor movie. We’ve visited our pool once – pathetic. Our favorite outdoor movie location isn’t happening this summer, which is really depressing, we have a few outdoor shows later this summer and we keep talking about the beach, but ugh, we really need to get going.

Another important topic: not only is this the summer of plants, but it’s the summer of corn. And, I like it. Mexican Street Corn Crostini was a great start to the corn season and I think I’ve got at least one more in me!

But this corn salad could also be considered a salsa, a topping for anything grilled, scrambled eggs or a topping for a green or tomato salad. The possibilities are endless. (And what I really mean is, put this on anything and everything.)

This recipe comes together really quickly, simply shake together the dressing and toss all ingredients together.

I love Chipotle. (Is there anyone who doesn’t? Please, make yourself known. We need to talk.)

But I never order a burrito – always a salad. When we were in Mexico, we had the most-delicious burritos EVER and I started to wonder if I was missing out with my typical Chipotle order. I’ve since ordered a burrito at Chipotle, and then at a local Mexican joint, Cactus, but neither compare to the one from Burrito Revolution.

So for now, I’ve decided that I’ll stick with salads (or burrito bowls!) at Chipotle, tostadas at Cactus and make my burritos at home.

These five-layer burritos have just that: five layers of refried beans, avocado, pico de gallo, sour cream and shredded lettuce. On their own, these ingredients are nothing special, but when combined they make a delicious, easy and nutritious dinner that comes together in minutes. And that’s something we can all use more of.

It’s hardly a recipe, but more of a reminder / new dinner inspiration.

Here’s my tortilla theory: sprouted is best, followed by whole-grain/corn/flour. I understand that sprouted tortillas aren’t for everyone….and if you solely look at the nutritional facts between flour and whole-grain flour tortillas, the differences are pretty small (think 2 grams of fiber), so I say, eat what you prefer! If the white flour tortilla tastes much better, you’re bound to feel more satisfied after eating it. (And this topic is one that probably deserves a whole post, because it applies to many foods!)

It’s been three weeks, so clearly you need another quinoa salad, right?

I honestly feel a little behind the times with the whole quinoa salad trend.

But as they say, better late than never! Especially because quinoa is a nutritious little seed that boasts 8 grams of (complete!) protein and 5 grams of fiber per cup (cooked). Even more than that though, I love the convenience of making a big batch of quinoa salad and eating it over greens for quick weekday lunches. The combination of beans + quinoa = one satisfying salad.

When I was testing quinoa salad recipes for self.com, this was one of the versions I came up with and I love it for a few reasons. One: I am currently going through a MAJOR black bean phase. Two: I love the contrast of the light quinoa and dark bean. (It’s purely a cosmetic reason.) Three: CHEESE! (No explanation necessary.)

Serve it alongside grilled chicken for dinner or bring it to your next summer party, it’s sure to be a hit!

My family is in Sayulita, Mexico and we’re on our way home after a cooking class. We pass by a street corn vendor. Mexican Street Corn is that one food that I just can’t seem to find here in LA, but I so desperately want. I stopped in my tracks, stared at the grilled corn and was ultimately convinced that it was a bad idea. (Only because I couldn’t even fit a few corn kernels into my stomach.)

The simple solution was to find out what time she would be there the following day so we could go back and I could get my street corn fix.

But it wasn’t that simple. Because when I went back the next day for an afternoon snack, she was no where in sight. I was a little depressed and did what any older sister would do – blame the miscommunication on my brother’s español. The life lesson learned from this? Never, under any circumstance, pass by a street corn vendor.

But we were in Mexico. On vacation. Eating well. No time (or reason?!) for feeling blue.

So I fully enjoyed the remainder of my vacation and then once back at home, I made the next best thing.

Traditionally, Mexican Street Corn (or Elotes) is sweet corn that is grilled until charred and then slathered with an addicting combination of cojita cheese, crema, mayonnaise, garlic and chili powder. I hope you’re drooling…I am. It’s important to note that the cojita and crema aren’t mandatory – feel free to replace them with feta cheese and sour cream if they aren’t convenient for you.

Sadly, we don’t have a grill, so grilling ears of corn isn’t always an option, but the only thing better than grilled corn slathered with “addicting slather” is grilled (or roasted!) corn and “addicting slather” on top of bread. If you like mexican street corn – or even regular, old sweet corn – you’ll love this crostini.

Serve it with grilled flank steak and a salad, it’s quite satisfying!

Mexican Street Corn Crostini

by Emily Dingmann

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: bake appetizer bread side snack vegetarian Mexican

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Ingredients (8 servings)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup light sour cream

juice from 1 lime

2 cups frozen corn kernels (fire roasted if possible)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 loaf of multigrain bread, sliced

4 oz cojita cheese (about 1 cup crumbled)

garnish: chopped cilantro, chili powder

If grilling corn yourself, grill and use 2 cups of kernels cut off the cob

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat olive oil in pan and add garlic and corn. Saute for about 5-7 minutes.

Remove from heat, squeeze half of lime over corn mixture and set aside.

Hi, I’m Emily

I love simple, delicious food that happens to be healthy. And that's what I share here! My husband and I live in Los Angeles (but are both from the Midwest) and I work at an anti-hunger nonprofit. Read More…